Still in Limbo

I'm still aggravated about not being able to advance toward goat ownership. My chain saw's still busted and my bank account is still reeling from the well pump going out. But I am determined to make some sort of progress.
The county offices failed to call me back all week. I'll call them next week.
I have taken the monumental step of contacting another goat owner in my area. Tara is a member of Goat Spot and we are getting together next Saturday to talk goat. I look forward to seeing how another person has their goat yard set up.

I'll admit, I'm starting to feel desperate. I think my most favorable months to purchase a pair will be May or June. How I'm going to get an area for them, I'm not sure, starting over from scratch. I'm seriously considering a dog tie out system.

Should I "farm?"

I read an article, last week, indicating that the USDA is going to provide “microloans” to help small farmers, “…up to $35,000 are designed to help bolster family-run farms as well as minority growers and military veterans seeking to start a farm who might otherwise have trouble qualifying for small loans from banks or other USDA loan programs.” The article went on to say those interested should contact their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office.

I looked up the contact information for my local FSA office and gave them a call. I was dismayed at the information that I received. First off, my button pushing did not direct me to the office I was seeking. I was did not want to apply for the loan, but wanted information about the new program. I got the loan dept., anyway. The nice lady, Betty I think her name was, explained that the other people “on the county side” were out of the office. When the phone rings a couple of times, if no one picks it up, she does.

I explained about the article. She said the first step was for me to register my farm, and stated there were not many goat farms in McMinn County, TN. The undertone made it sound like there were no goat farms in McMinn County, but I don’t know. I know there are people who have farms with goats, but they might not be registered as such. When I said I had about 1.4 acres of land, I could almost hear the corners of her mouth turn upward. The journey of her lips to condescending smirk completed when I said that I had never farmed before. According the Betty, they loans were for people who were farming for at least three years. Further research, linked above, seems to contradict her thinking. I’m guessing the new loan process may have been rolled out without much information leaking down to the local levels, yet, or Betty sees people trying to become farmers as an inconvenience and inadvertently tries to discourage such things. Welcome to the bureaucracy, Mr. Larson.

I hung up the phone without much more information than I had when I started the conversation, except that to apply for any government assistance, I would need to register my small plot of land as an official “farm.” This, however, is in contradiction to what I was told earlier, if I’m just producing milk for my family and plan to sell the excess goats for meat, I don’t need to register as a farm. I do not recall who told me that, but it was another phone call to another agency.

I am very much leaning toward registering my land as a “farm.” My accounting degree kicks in here, knowing there are tax advantagesto having a farm, as well as advantages in loans and that sort. I do not see any disadvantage in registering my land as a farm. I plan to speak with “the county side” to determine what is needed and learn more of the advantages of it. The disadvantage is that my farm my not make a profit and “fail.” I have tried to start other businesses that did not work out, so it is not a new experience. I would write it off and press on… ever onward.

More troubles... who needs water, anyway?

What a depressing and expensive week this has been.  I thought the “damn chainsaw” derailed things. Now the train has completely jumped the track and is hangin’ over the cliff with Pauline dangling from the cattle catcher!

Tonight, it’s raining again. Possible tornadoes not too far from here. I’ve not been able to take any pictures of what I’ve done. Once the weather stops dripping on us, I’m going to evaluate, further, my choice for the goat yard. I’ll have to check how soggy the ground gets, how the water drains. If there’s too much standing water from this soaking. There might be a better place.

But let’s back up and review the week that was.

Monday of last week started off normally. I went to work and later that day Faith and the kids were to go to town for shopping.  Sometime in the early afternoon, I get a phone call from my darling wife. There is no water at the house. Exactly what happened was, at the time, a mystery. I had water early in the morning, getting ready for work. Faith mentioned she started the dishwasher and had put a load of laundry in. Both seemed to be running fine when she left. Point of fact. We had no water.

Now, if you’re reading this, you probably live out in the country and you know about well water. It’s nice to know we don’t have to pay a city or county for water. At the same time, it’s a pain, because when things go wrong, you are responsible for fixing it or hiring someone to fix it.

So now, the process of elimination begins. Are all the faucets turned off? Yes. Is there any sign of water coming from under the house to indicate a pipe has blown? No <whew>. Is the breaker blown? No <possible problem>. After searching and searching, we can’t find the cause. Meanwhile, I had shut off the breaker to the well pump. If the pump had run dry, I don’t want the thing running 300’ below ground trying to suck air and burn up the motor.

Faith contacts a well company; Tuesday morning he comes out to inspect it. Unfortunately, he can’t get his truck to the well. The direct path from the driveway to the well has out back porch and a shed in the way. The other way has some “yard waste” of branches, and toys, etc., and it’s been raining, so he’s not wanting to go that way. He says he’s pretty sure the pump is blown, but can’t say for sure until he looks at it. He can’t say how much it’ll cost until he looks at it. ARGH! Meanwhile, I contact one of the local YMCA’s to see if we can get some sort of hardship access to their showers. The first phone number got me talking to a very supportive woman. However, she was in another city. The phone number I attached to the local YMCA went to a different one, not so local. The woman was able to give me the correct phone number, however. So, I called that number and after telling my tale of woe, yet again, I was put to someone’s voicemail because she was out for the day. Great.

So, we’re without water for a second day. Luckily, my workplace has a fitness room with shower facilities, so I can clean up there. Faith and the kids received multiple invitations from friends allowing her and the kids use of their water. Drinking water is coming from the local big-box store, and we were able to use the toilets by hauling up water from the creek… not fun, but necessary.

Wednesday and Faith had a friend agree to come out and help her with clearing a path to the well. After discovering the back porch is (thankfully) very securely installed in the ground, the clean up as much of the “yard waste” as they can before calling the well guy, again. Luck was with us that day, it had stopped raining around mid-morning. The guy came back out and was able to replace the well pump… to the tune of $$$$. OH MY!  I talked to a co-worker, who pays for water, to ascertain her average water bill.  It’ll take over two years before this pump pays for itself using her monthly bill as an average, not counting the electricity it takes to run the pump every month, the water purchased while it was out, etc. ARGH, again!

Any savings I had for goats, fencing, chainsaw repair, just went back into the general fund. Goat fund = $0. Is this something I am going to be able to accomplish?  I want goats. But the doubts creep up again. Can I really afford the care? Am I going to be able to look after them? Is it worth all this trouble and aggravation or do I end the blog now and go back to status quo?

That night at dinner, after all this frustration, no water for three days, massive expense and eating on Styrofoam plates for the better part of a week, my daughter asks at dinner, “So, how long until we get the goats?” It wasn’t unhappily asked; it wasn’t with a forlorn look or lack of conviction. She was simply looking for an update as part of normal dinner conversation. <sigh> Yep, we’re getting goats. This year, I told her, and we talked about it for a good five minutes or more.

I tried the chainsaw again Saturday after having it inside, instead of the shed. Nothing. Wouldn’t even begin to start. I pulled that cord and adjusted the choke. I checked the oil and gas and still nothing happened. I think it’s dead.

The YMCA has yet to call me back.

Set back - damn chainsaw

OH MY GODS! I don't believe this crap! I said this was going to be a blog of the good and the bad, but I didn't think the bad would come this quickly. I bought a 20" Poulan Pro chainsaw from Lowes last December. Yes, it's the just-over-a-year-and-there's-trouble story. Now the thing won't keep running.

My plan is to cut down a bunch of the trees on our land. This will clear an area for the goats and provide raw timber to be used for a homemade split rail fence. Nice plan, huh? The chainsaw, which I'd used throughout the year on-and-off, worked great for one day... well, about an hour or so of cutting. I had chopped about a dozen trees, mainly pine, and cut the branches from four or five. I shut off the saw to clean up some of the limbs and try to move some of the timber to a central location for future use. I had a few trees about 30 feet in length and realized it would be better to cut them up for easier moving. Pretty smart for an old guy. Continuing to feel pretty intelligent, I decided that nine foot sections would do well for my purposes. The would allow me to bury three feet and leave six to build a nice fence with room to spare. I cranked up the saw and moved to the first tree only to have the motor stop before the chain touched the wood. Pulled the rope again and it started up only to have it die again...and again... and again. This was Saturday. I put the saw back on the table and walked away. I must have flooded it. I just had the thing in the shop for the same problem. They adjusted the carburetor and put on a new chain, but really couldn't find anything wrong with it.

I went back out an hour later and started it from cold. I pumped the bulb, pulled the cord a few times before adjusting the choke to the halfway position and pulling again. The saw started and I let it run uninhibited for about 30 second before pushing the choke the rest of the way in. I walked out to the downed trees, made one or two cuts through the downed trees and the saw died again. The largest tree I cut down about 15" at the base, so I wasn't taxing the engine or burying the blade. After a few more tries, I gave up and put the saw back in the shed. Tomorrow is another day.

It's tomorrow and things have not improved. I took my son out to help me measure the 9-ft sections. I was going to have nine good sections, and could probably split some of those, once things were cut up. That little adventure is still a few months away; I've never tried to split anything larger than firewood. (later!) So we had the trees measured and marked. I put my son to work splitting some of the aforementioned firewood to kindling with a hatchet and a rubber mallet. Good work for an 11-yr old. Secure that the probability of him cutting is leg off was minimal, I started the saw from cold again, same procedure. I barely got the first 9-ft section separated from the rest of the tree trunk when the damn chainsaw died. Ten minutes of fussing and cussing later, I said the heck with it. Time to try something different.
I went in and got my 24" metal bow saw. If I can't get done mechanically, I'd do it manually. I gave my axe a glance, but decided that was probably overkill on these thin trees. The axe would probably bounce off the trunks and I would not be happy with the results. So, I took the saw out with its standard big raker-style blade “for fast cutting and self-cleaning.” I took it to the first cut, a small bit of pine about 4” in diameter at the first marking. The saw hung before the blade fully sank below the level of the bark.
I lost it! Not just a little, but I flippin’ lost it! Falling into a fit of rage, I beat the offending bow saw onto the spot that was to be cut. Again and again, the blade snapping off on the third swing, flying somewhere behind me as I continued to beat on this dead tree. My tirade continued for what seemed like five minutes, alternating between screaming at the woods and whacking the shit out of any nearby tree, alive or dead, until the bow saw was well and bent and my rage  & frustration had run its course. The $10 saw was destroyed. Good!! My project is at a standstill. Bad.
 
Options, what are my options? For at least two decades, one of my mantas has been “always have a backup plan.” So, what’re my options? It was time to analyze. The first thing to pop to my mind was I could take the chainsaw back to the shop and have them look at it again. Analysis: They couldn’t find anything decisively wrong the first time and probably wouldn’t this time. It cost me over $70 to have it worked on. The saw costs $199 new. When is it more feasible to buy a new one instead of trying to fix the old? Option #2 – forget the split rail fence, don’t waste money on the saw and go with goat fencing and T-posts. Analysis: estimated cost $500, about the price of a good new chainsaw. I live in the woods, I need a chainsaw. I don’t have any goats at this time, so there’s no rush to get the fence up, other than my own timetable. Options #3 – Contact Poulan and see if the manufacturer can fix the stupid thing. They made it! Analysis: Well, the jury’s still out on this one. I thought of this option about 30 minutes after my tirade. Might not be a bad idea. The worse they’ll say is no, or the cost will be prohibitive. I looked them up online and came up with only phone numbers. This is good and bad. It means I’ll need to talk to someone (good) but they might not have the immediate answer (bad). Options #4 – a.k.a left field ... The idea that is just wacky enough to work– Bring the chainsaw in the house for a week. What? Why?  Analysis: When I took the saw in to get worked on, the guys were out sick with the flu. The saw sat in the shop for a week or more before they worked on it. It did not sit in cold temperatures, outside in the shed. The workers found no problem with the saw, it started properly and promptly and ran fine. Suppose there’s something wonky about the saw and it works better when it is stored at room temperature? Can a chainsaw have a personality like a car?
 
Therefore, I am going to bring the saw inside for the next week, let it “rest” at room temperature and plan to try again next weekend. I am also going to call Poulan and check out that option, though I fear the shipping costs will kill that idea.
 
Here I sit: no working chainsaw, a dozen trees down (half without limbs, half needing to be trimmed, about a third cut to my desired length of 9 feet), no goats, not much open land and minus one $10 bow saw. But I have a bucket full of poplar kindling... after I stopped my kid from setting the firewood pieces on small chunck of cinderblock to split it! I’m hoping he only hit the cinderblock the one time I saw and stopped him.
 
Pictures of the damage I’ve done … semi-cleared land to follow in a day or two.

Finished "Get Your Goat"

About ten days after receiving "Get Your Goat" by Brent Zimmerman as a gift from my wife, I've finished it for the first time. I anticipate this will be one of the books that I come back to, just for the overview and stories provided by the author. I think it's good to re-read reference books. My mind tends to wander, and while I'll read all the words, I might not allow them to sink in to my brain for future reference. Either that or my children will interrupt me and I will forget what it is that I read, four times, in three minutes... and then just press on because, "darn it. i'm going to get past this paragraph if it kills me."
"Get Your Goat" was a nice overview, but a bit short on detail. It does have a very nice section explaining the different types of goats, meat, dairy and fiber. It is hardly and exhausted list, but it gives you a good idea. Wikipedia's entry on goats indicates there are over 300 breeds. Another wiki page lists the use of almost 70, still less than a third of the breeds that walk this great planet of ours.
Again, the book was very good and I (who knows very little about goats at this point) would recommend it to someone in the same mind frame, that of I Want To Know More! While my wife paid retail for it, as it was published in 2012, perhaps someone else might find it in a used bookstore somewhere for just a couple of dollars.
The rain, which has kept me in the house, has moved on for the time being, though current radar is not promising, the forecast does not call for rain. I hope to test the newly repaired/tuned-up chainsaw this weekend.